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San Angelo, Texas
United States |subdivision_type1 = State |subdivision_name1 = Texas |subdivision_type2 = County |subdivision_name2 = Tom Green |government_type = Council-Manager |leader_title = City Council |leader_name = Mayor Dwain Morrison Rodney Fleming Marty Self Johnny Silvas Don Vardeman Elizabeth Grindstaff Charlotte Farmer |leader_title1 = City Manager |leader_name1 = Daniel Valenzuela |established_date = |area_magnitude = 1 E9 |area_total_km2 = 150.9 |area_land_km2 = 144.8 |area_water_km2 = 6.1 |unit_pref = Imperial |area_total_sq_mi = 58.2 |area_land_sq_mi = 55.9 |area_water_sq_mi = 2.3 |elevation_m = 562 |elevation_ft = 1844 |coordinates_display = inline,title |coordinates_type = region:US_type:city |latd = 31 |latm = 27 |latNS = N |longd = 100 |longm = 27 |longEW = W |population_blank1_title = Demonym |population_blank1 = San Angeloan|population_as_of = 2012 |population_metro = 116,823 |population_note = |population_total = 100,103 |population_density_km2 = 633 |timezone = CST |utc_offset = -6 |timezone_DST = CDT |utc_offset_DST = -5 | latitude = 31°27' N | longitude = 100°27' W |website = The City of San Angelo, Texas |postal_code_type = ZIP codes |postal_code = 76901-09 |area_code = 325 |blank_name = FIPS code |blank_info = 48-64472 |blank1_name = GNIS feature ID |blank1_info = 1375953 |footnotes = }} San Angelo is a city in the state of Texas and the county seat of Tom Green County in West Central Texas. According to a 2014 Census estimate, San Angelo has a total population of 113,820. The city is the principal city and center of the San Angelo metropolitan area, which has a population of 116,823. San Angelo is home to Angelo State University, historic Fort Concho, and Goodfellow Air Force Base. Some common nicknames of San Angelo include Angelo, the River City, the Concho City, the Pearl of the Conchos, The Land of Sand and Jello, and the Oasis of West Texas, Sangelo. History Prior to the coming of Europeans, San Angelo was the center of the Jumano people. The area had been inhabited for thousands of years by succeeding cultures of indigenous peoples. In 1632, a short-lived mission of Franciscans under Spanish auspices was founded in the area to serve the Indians. The mission was led by the friars Juan de Salas and Juan de Ortega, with Ortega remaining for six months. The area was visited by the Castillo-Martin expedition of 1650 and the Diego de Guadalajara expedition of 1654. The current city of San Angelo was founded by European Americans in 1867, when the United States constructed Fort Concho as one of a series of new forts designed to protect the frontier from hostile threats. The fort was home to cavalry, infantry, and the famous Black Cavalry, otherwise known as Buffalo Soldiers by Indigenous Americans. The settler Bartholomew J. DeWitt founded the village of Santa Angela outside the fort at the juncture of the North and South Concho Rivers. He named the village after his wife, Carolina Angela. The name was eventually changed to San Angela. The name would change again to San Angelo in 1883 on the insistence of the United States Postal Service, as San Angela was grammatically incorrect in Spanish. The town became a trade center for farmers and settlers in the area, as well as a fairly lawless cow town filled with brothels, saloons and gambling houses. After being designated as the county seat, the town grew quickly in the 1880s, aided by being on the route of newly constructed railroads. It became a central transportation hub for the region. The Santa Fe Railroad arrived in 1888 and the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway in 1909. After a tuberculosis (TB) outbreak hit the United States in the early 1900s, many patients moved to San Angelo. At the time, doctors could only recommend rest in dry, warm climates. TB sufferers went to San Angelo for treatment. In 1928, the city founded San Angelo College, one of the region's first institutes of higher education. The city had been passed over by the Texas State Legislature to be the home of what would become Texas Tech University. San Angelo College, one of the first municipal colleges, has grown to become Angelo State University. The military returned to San Angelo during World War II with the founding of Goodfellow Air Force Base, which was assigned to train pilots at the time. San Angelo grew exponentially during the oil boom of the 1900s, when vast amounts of oil were found in the area, and the city became a regional hub of the oil and gas industry. The San Angelo Independent School District became one of the first in Texas to integrate, doing so voluntarily in 1955. In 2010, San Angelo voters passed a comprehensive smoking ordinance. Geography Courthouse, San Angelo]] San Angelo is located at (31.453113, −100.452502). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 58.2 square miles (150.9 km²), of which, 55.9 square miles (144.8 km²) of it is land and 2.3 square miles (6.1 km²) of it (4.03%) is water. San Angelo falls on the southwestern edge of the Edwards Plateau and the northeastern edge of the Chihuahuan desert at the juncture of the North and South Concho Rivers. The city has three lakes: Twin Buttes Reservoir, O.C. Fisher Reservoir, and Lake Nasworthy. The Middle Concho River joined the South Concho several miles upstream, but the confluence has been obscured by the Twin Buttes dam. Climate San Angelo falls near the boundary between the subtropical semiarid steppe (Köppen BSh) and mid-latitude steppe climates (Köppen BSk). It is located at the region where Central Texas meets West Texas weather. Temperatures reach 100 °F about 18 times in an average year. However, in 2011, San Angelo recorded 100 days of 100 °F or higher. The average year has 50 days with lows below freezing. Though the region does experience snow and sleet, they occur only a few times a year. San Angelo averages 251 days of sunshine a year, and the average temperature is 65.4 °F. The city has an average rainfall of . '' |date=July 2014 }} Demographics Texas Almanac }} As of the census of 2010, 93,200 people, 36,117 households, and 22,910 families resided in the city. The population density was 1,601 people per square mile (618/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 83% White, 5.4% African American, 1.4% Indigenous American, 1.7% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 11.3% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 38.5% of the population. Of 36,117 households, 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.2% were married couples living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.6% were not families; 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.05. In the city, the population was distributed as 23.4% under the age of 18 and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32.8 years. The population was 48.7% male and 51.3% female. The median income for a household in the city was $38,777, and for a family was $49,640. Males had a median income of $33,257 versus $26,750 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,970. About 13.9% of families and 17.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.4% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over. Economy San Angelo has consistently been ranked by many publications and rankings as one of the best small cities for business and employment. In 2013, it ranked fourth in the nation in Forbes Magazine's "Best Cities For Jobs" rankings. In 2010 Kiplinger's Personal Finance named San Angelo as one of the "Best Cities of the Next Decade". In 2009, CNN Money ranked San Angelo as one of the best cities to launch a small business. San Angelo has a very diverse economy for a city of its size. Although most oil fields lay to the west, many oil-field service companies based in the city employ a large number of local residents. The agricultural industry in San Angelo remains strong. Producer’s Livestock Auction is the nation’s largest for sheep and lambs, and is among the top five in the nation for cattle auctions. Though most agricultural work is done outside the city, thousands of employees work in the cattle and lamb meat-processing industries, and many more work in agriculture supporting roles inside the city. Two agricultural research centers are located in San Angelo: the Angelo State University Management Instruction and Research Center and the Texas A&M Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center at San Angelo. The telecommunication industry is a strong employer in San Angelo. Sitel has a call center in San Angelo. In addition, Verizon, Performant Recovery Inc. (Formerly DCS), a debt recovery corporation, and Blue Cross all employ over 1,000 each individuals locally. San Angelo serves as the regional medical center for West-central Texas. Shannon Medical Center and Community Medical Center employ over 3,000 in San Angelo, and provide services to a large region of West-central Texas. The manufacturing industry has seen hits since the 1990s; however, many large employers still remain, including Ethicon a division of Johnson & Johnson, Conner Steel, and Hirschfield Steel. The several large institutional employers in the city include Shannon Medical Center, Angelo State University, and Goodfellow Air Force Base. The latter remains the largest employer in the region. Sunset Mall, the area's major shopping mall, opened in 1979. Arts and culture San Angelo Museum of Art The San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts opened in 1999 in downtown San Angelo on the banks of the Concho River, built with local limestone and end-grain Texas mesquite. It attracts over 85,000 visitors a year and is home to the National Ceramic Competition. Chicken Farm Art Center The Chicken Farm Art Center, located in northwest San Angelo, was founded in 1971. It houses an eclectic group of 15 artists' studios. Art Galleries Downtown San Angelo is home to various art galleries. The San Angelo Art walk, held every third Thursday, includes a viewing of the various downtown art galleries. These include the Kendall Art Gallery, Ruiz Studio, Black Swan Gallery, The Glass Prism, Bonnie Beesley Rug Gallery, and the Wool 'n Cotton Shop, as well as other public art venues. A free trolley service is available to the public. San Angelo Symphony The San Angelo Symphony, founded in 1949, plays several events a year, with its feature event being on July 3. Over 20,000 people regularly attend that performance, which takes place at the River Stage, an outdoor venue on the Concho River. Angelo Civic Theater Angelo Civic Theater, the oldest civic theater in Texas, was founded in 1885 to raise funds for a town clock at the county courthouse. In 1969‚ a fire destroyed the school building in which the theater was housed, so it produced its plays at various locations for 13 years, until it purchased the 230-seat Parkway Theater in 1980. Each year, the theater presents five in-house plays, as well as one traveling summer play, to 15,000 people. San Angelo Civic Ballet The San Angelo Civic Ballet was founded in 1983. The feature production is the annual "The Nutcracker" production. Plays Angelo State University, through "The Arts at ASU", puts on six plays a year open to the general public. The plays range from dinner theaters and theater in the round to conventional theatre productions, using the only active Modular Theatre in the United States. It also features numerous concerts and recitals throughout the year, and numerous displays in the Angelo State University Art Gallery. The public is encouraged to attend and actively supports all events. Sports play their home games at Foster Field.]] Angelo State Rams Angelo State University participates in NCAA D II athletics; all games are open to the public. The school competes in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, softball, track and field, and volleyball. It features some of the largest and newest facilities in the Lone Star Conference, and consistently ranks within the Top 20 teams nationally among attendance. The University has won four National Championships in football, basketball, softball and track and field. San Angelo Bandits The San Angelo Bandits, an indoor football team founded in 2012, play in the Lone Star Football League. Their home games are played in the 5,260-seat Foster Communications Coliseum. Their regular playing season starts in April and ends in July. San Angelo Colts The San Angelo Colts are a minor-league baseball team in the United League Baseball. The first professional team to use the Colts name was founded in 1922. The current version of the team began in 2000. Their games are played at Foster Field, a facility that seats 4,200 and was built in 1999. Parks and recreation ]] City Park system The San Angelo City Park system was created in 1903. The city currently has 32 parks with over of developed land. The department maintains a 33-acre municipal golf course along the river, 25 playgrounds, and 25 sports practice fields. The "crown jewels" of the parks system are the parks that make up the of river frontage on the Concho River winding through downtown and beyond. The parks feature many plazas, public art displays, and numerous water features. The city is home to the International Water Lily Collection. The park contains over 300 varieties of water lilies, one of the largest collections in the world. The city also provides several municipal parks on Lake Nasworthy, one of three lakes near the city, which include Twin Buttes Reservoir and O.C. Fisher Reservoir. The father of the San Angelo Park System is (Dr.) Albert Neely Carlin, who became the first Superintendent of Parks on June 15, 1925. His history in this endeavor was reported in the San Angelo Standard-Times, "Leisure Times" column (by Carl White) on August 10, 2013. In writing this article, he drew upon a biography written by Mr. Carlin's grandson, Warren Wolff, who lives in Lake Havasu City, AZ. (See Leisure Times; August 10, 2013) San Angelo State Park San Angelo is home to San Angelo State Park. The park, owned and maintained by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, is located on the shores of the O.C. Fisher Reservoir. Many activities are available within the park, including camping, picnicking, and swimming, as well as hiking, mountain biking, orienteering, and horseback riding on over of developed trails. The park is home to the Official State of Texas Longhorn herd. San Angelo Nature Center The San Angelo Nature Center, located at Lake Nasworthy, is an educational center open to the public. The center features many native and exotic animals, including alligators, bobcats, prairie dogs, tortoises, and 85 different species of reptiles, including 22 different species of rattlesnakes. It includes the Spring Creek Wetland, which has being developed by the Federal Bureau of Reclamation, including a trail; its terrain varies from a semiarid environment to a freshwater marsh. It also maintains the one-mile (1.6-km) nature trail off Spillway Road. Fort Concho Historic Fort Concho, a National Historic Landmark, maintained by the city of San Angelo, was founded in 1867 by the United States Army to protect settlers and maintain vital trade routes. It frequently experienced skirmishes with the then hostile Comanche tribe. Today the restored site is home to several museums, and is open to visitors Tuesday through Sunday. Fort Concho is one of nine forts along the Texas Forts Trail. ]] San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo The annual San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo is held every year from February 18 through February 28. It began in 1932, making it one of the longest-running rodeos in the world. It is nationally renowned within the rodeo circuit, bringing in the top contestants and ranking as one of Top 10 rodeos in the nation for monetary prizes awarded to contestants. It includes a parade, carnival, and concerts, and many other events in addition to the main stock show and rodeo. San Angelo was mentioned in George Strait's song "Lone Star Blues" in his album Here for a Good Time, released in 2011. Education Higher education ]] San Angelo is home to Angelo State University. The university, founded in 1928, has about 6,900 students from almost every county in Texas, 40 states, and 24 countries. One of the nation's premier regional universities, it was featured in the Princeton Review Best 373. The only other two listed in the state of Texas were Texas A&M University and the University of Texas at Austin. It offers almost 100 different undergraduate programs and 23 graduate programs, including one doctoral program. The university is divided into six colleges, Business, Education, Liberal and Fine Arts, Nursing and Allied Health, Sciences, Education, and Graduate Studies. It is a member of the Texas Tech University System as of 2007. San Angelo has a branch of Howard College, which is based in Big Spring, Texas. The San Angelo campus has more than 2,000 students. The two-year school prepares students academically for transfer to a four-year university, and concentrates in technical and occupational fields of study that lead to certificates and/or associate in applied science degrees. San Angelo is home to a branch of Park University. It is located on the Goodfellow Air Force Base. The Goodfellow Campus Center has been providing higher education to the Concho Valley area since 1989. Park University’s main campus was established in 1875 and is located in Parkville, Missouri. San Angelo is also the home to a branch of American Commercial College, a private for-profit career college. It offers seven career certificate programs. Campus]] Public primary and secondary education Almost all of San Angelo is in the San Angelo Independent School District. Small parts are served by the Wall Independent School District (southeast San Angelo) and the Grape Creek Independent School District (northwest San Angelo). The two main high schools are Central (CHS) with Central Freshmen Campus (CFC), and Lake View (LVH); three middle schools, and 21 elementary schools are within San Angelo city limits. Private and alternative education Seven private schools operate in the city, certified through the 12th grade, which include Ambleside School of San Angelo, a member of Ambleside Schools International, the Angelo Catholic School, Cornerstone Christian School, Gateway Christian Academy, Trinity Lutheran School, Potter's Hand Christian School, and TLCA, which is a charter school. Media Newspapers * San Angelo LIVE (Digital) * San Angelo Standard-Times (Print) Television Radio AM stations FM stations Infrastructure ]] Transportation San Angelo is served by the San Angelo Regional Airport, which offers daily flights through Envoy Air. Intrastate and interstate bus service is provided by the Kerrville Bus Co. and Sunset Stages from the downtown Union Bus Center, as Greyhound Bus providers. Both have regularly scheduled service to major cities in Texas and nationwide. The BNSF Railway serves the town and the Texas Pacifico has a lease on a TxDOT rail line, formerly the Kansas City, Texas and Orient Railroad, but it is in poor repair. The intracity public transportation is provided by the Concho Valley Transit District, with its five fixed bus routes, with transfers provided at the Santa Fe station. The bus service runs from 6:30am to 6:30pm, Monday through Saturday. Taxi service is always available throughout the city by Red Ball Taxi and Shuttle, Checker Cab, All American Cab and Yellow Cab. Notable people * Jay Presson Allen, screenwriter and playwright. * Robert Nason Beck (1928–2008), pioneer researcher of the uses of radioactive materials, such as technetium-99, for medical imaging using positron emission tomography, was born and has family in San Angelo. * Frank "Bring'em Back Alive" Buck lived in San Angelo in the 1940s and 1950s. * Former Screaming Trees guitarist Gary Lee Conner now resides in San Angelo. * Former survivor candidate and actor Colby Donaldson was born just outside San Angelo and lived in the city. * Western author Patrick Dearen lived in San Angelo while he was a staff writer for the Standard-Times newspaper. * Former NFL player Jeff Drost was born in San Angelo. * Pulitzer Prize nominee and Texas A&M University professor Joe Feagin was born in San Angelo. * Crawford Goldsby (also known as "Cherokee Bill") was born in Fort Concho (across the Concho River from what was then San Angelo) on February 8, 1876. * Dorsey B. Hardeman (1902-1992) was the mayor of San Angelo from 1936 to 1938, and thereafter served a total of 26 years in both houses of the Texas State Legislature. He was an advocate of water expansion in West Texas. * College Football Hall of Fame member Pierce Holt attended Angelo State University, and was a member of the San Francisco 49ers and Atlanta Falcons in the 1990s. He was a two-time Pro Bowl selection. * Former Major Leaguer David Hulse attended San Angelo Central High School, and went on to play for the Texas Rangers and Milwaukee Brewers in the 1990s. * George B. Jackson (1850–1900), an African American businessman and rancher from San Angelo, was considered the "wealthiest black in Texas" in the second half of the 19th century. * Award-winning western writer and roustabout Elmer Kelton (1926–2009) lived in San Angelo. * Colleen R. LaRose was indicted in March 2010 with trying to recruit Islamic terrorists to wage jihad and murder a Swedish artist. * Brandon Larson is a former Major League Baseball third baseman * Los Lonely Boys is an American Grammy-winning musical group from San Angelo that plays Tex-Mex rock with elements of blues, soul, country and Tejano. * Four-time Cy Young Award-winning & Baseball Hall of Fame inductee baseball pitcher Greg Maddux was born in San Angelo. * Matthew McConaughey owns a ranch nearby and frequently shops in San Angelo. * Monty McCutchen, a professional basketball referee in the NBA, lives there. * Shea Morenz, a graduate of San Angelo Central and former Texas Longhorns quarterback, was drafted by the New York Yankees. * Actor Fess Parker grew up on a ranch near San Angelo. * Former professional tennis player Cliff Richey, who won 45 career singles titles, 1970 World Grand Prix Champion, two-time Davis Cup Champion, No. 1 ranked player in the United States in 1970 and the coauthor of Acing Depression: A Tennis Champion's Toughest Match, was born in San Angelo and currently lives there. * Former professional tennis player Nancy Richey, who won six Grand Slam titles and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame '03, was born in San Angelo and currently lives there. Together, Nancy and Cliff are the best brother and sister to have ever played the game of tennis. * Jazz musician Jack Teagarden lived in San Angelo. * Sam Sheridan - played semi- & professional basketball in Japan 2003-2004. Graduated from San Angelo Central High School in 1994. Attended ASU. * Musician Ernest Tubb, a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, worked for several years in San Angelo, and had a daily live music show on a local radio station prior to going to Nashville. * Surveyor W. D. Twichell, whose work encompassed 165 of the 254 Texas counties, retired to San Angelo in 1934, where he lived until his death in 1959. * Grant Speed, western sculptor, resides in Utah, but was born in San Angelo in 1930. * Bram Stoker Award winner and novelist Lucy A. Snyder grew up in San Angelo and has used a fictional version of the city as a setting in some of her work. * Former IFBB champion Bonny Priest is the owner of Fitness Zone in San Angelo. * James Gill (artist) was raised in San Angelo and returned in 2005 when he fell back in love with his hometown after living in California for 50 years He currently works as an artist and as a breeder of Quarter Horses on a small ranch where he lives with his wife, daughter, and granddaughter. * Steve Trash (magician), an award-winning American illusionist and performer whose shows involve a theme of ecology and recycling, was born in San Angelo. See also * List of museums in West Texas * Texas Forts Trail References External links * San Angelo Free Internet News and Events Listings * City of San Angelo, Texas * San Angelo Independent School District * Concho Valley Homepage - Powered by KLST-TV and KSAN-TV in San Angelo * San Angelo Standard-Times * Angelo State University * Handbook of Texas: San Angelo Page * San Angelo Youth Basketball Club Category:Settlements established in 1867 Category:Cities in Texas Category:County seats in Texas Category:San Angelo, Texas Category:San Angelo metropolitan area Category:Cities in Tom Green County, Texas